Plants of the Week

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E.g., 22/12/2024
E.g., 22/12/2024

Hilliardiella oligocephala

Vernonia oligocephala flowers
Common names: bicoloured-leaved vernonia (Eng.); groenamarabossie (Afr.); Ihlambihloshane (Zulu)
Family: Asteraceae

Hilliardiella oligocephala is an attractive perennial with bicolored leaves and attractive bright purple flowers. It is the most common silver-leafed species...

14 / 09 / 2009 | N Mankazana | Walter Sisulu NBG
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Hippia frutescens

Corymb of flowers. Image N van Berkel
Common names: scrambling wormwood (Eng.); rankals, kanferbossie (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

This is a good plant for moist gardens and also has a traditional medicinal use....

12 / 05 / 2014 | B Busch | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Hippobromus pauciflorus

Hippobromus pauciflorus
Common names: false horsewood, bastard horsewood (Eng.); valsperdepis, basterperdepis boom, basterperdepis (Afr.); isiphahluka, uqhume, umnungumabele, umfazothethay
Family: Sapindaceae

A small to medium sized, attractive, fast-growing tree with a dense rounded crown of shiny, aromatic leaves, clusters of small creamy white, scented flowers...

08 / 01 / 2024 | Winfred Velephi Ngwenya | Lowveld NBG
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Holothrix randii

Holothrix randii
Common names: tassel orchid (Eng.)
Family: Orchidaceae

This orchid is easier to spot among the grasses in the morning, because the flowers look shiny and silver from a distance. A closer look at the front of...

11 / 01 / 2021 | Fergy Nkadimeng | Millennium Seed Bank Partnership
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Homalium dentatum

Homalium dentatum
Common names: brown-ironwood (Eng.); bruinysterhout, basterwitstinkhout (Afr.); idlebelendlovu, umkhakhasi (isiZulu); igqabile, uphantsi-komnga, umgqamkuhulu, inkom
Family: Salicaceae

When walking through the forest, it’s easy to get consumed by the density of the trees and all you see is green plants; this can make it difficult...

08 / 11 / 2021 | Mpho Mathalauga | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Homeria miniata

Common names: two-leaf Cape tulip, red tulp, poison bulb (Eng.), pronktulp, rooitulp, geeltulp, kraaitulp (Afr.)
Family: Iridaceae

see Moraea miniata...

06 / 08 / 2024 | | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Hoodia flava

Hoodia flava flower (Martin Heigan).
Common names: yellow-flowered ghaap (Eng.); soetghaap (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

Hoodia flava is an indigenous shrublet of southern Africa that is popularly used amongst the Khoi-San people as a hunger and appetite suppressant....

01 / 02 / 2016 | Lerato Hoveka | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Hoodia gordonii

Hoodia gordonii
Common names: bitter ghaap (Eng.); bitterghaap, muishondghaap, wolweghaap, bobbejaanghaap, bergghaap, bokhorings (Afr.); khobab (Khoi)
Family: Apocynaceae

Hoodia gordonii is one of the most sought after succulents due to its medicinal properties. It has been called one of the wonder plants of the twenty-first...

18 / 07 / 2005 | Ian Oliver | Karoo Desert NBG
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Hoslundia opposita

Hoslundia opposita
Common names: orange bird berry, bird gooseberry (Eng.); Uyaweyawe (Zulu)
Family: Lamiaceae

This hardy garden plant bears brightly coloured, tasty edible fruits and is an excellent subject for container gardening, which is a useful way to make...

11 / 07 / 2005 | T Mukoma | Lowveld NBG
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Huernia pendula

Huernia pendula growing on a shale cliff near Bolo Reserve along the Kei River
Common names: bootlace huernia (Eng.); skoenveter-aasblom (Afr.); imitya (Xhosa)
Family: Apocynaceae

Huernia pendula is a cliff hanger with rope-like leafless branches and bowl-shaped pendent flowers confined to dry river valleys in the Eastern Cape....

13 / 12 / 2010 | | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Huernia procumbens

Huernia procumbens in flower
Common names: Limpopo snake plant (Eng.); Limpopo aasblom (Afr.)
Family: Apocynaceae

A procumbent, mat-forming or pendent succulent with rough, 4-ribbed, green to brownish-green, tuberculate stems and star-shaped flowers, with 5 pale, pointed...

01 / 05 / 2023 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Hyacinthaceae

Eucomis bicolor
Common names: hyacinth family
Family: Hyacinthaceae

This is a family of 700-900 species of deciduous, or rarely evergreen, bulbous plants, several with brightly coloured flowers, that is well represented...

11 / 10 / 2004 | John Manning | Compton Herbarium
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Hyaenanche globosa

A young gifboom growing among sandstone rocks
Common names: hyaena-poison (Eng.); gifboom, wolwegifboom, wolweboontjie, boesmansgif
Family: Picrodendraceae

The gifboom is a large evergreen fynbos shrub or small tree endemic to the Gifberg of the northern Bokkeveld Escarpment just south of Vanrhynsdorp (northern...

28 / 02 / 2011 | Ernst van Jaarsveld | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Hydnora africana

Inside of H.africana flower
Common names: jackal food (Eng.); jakkalskos, bobbejaankos (Afr.)
Family: Hydnoraceae

Hydnora africana is one of the most bizarre-looking plants on the African continent and is certainly not the most common of plants to be encountered...

23 / 06 / 2008 | Werner Voigt | Harold Porter NBG
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Hydrostachys polymorpha

Growing in white water
Common names: white-waters plant (Eng.), phophoma-lasemanzini (Z)
Family: Hydrostachyaceae

This unusual plant is unable to survive without the turbulence of water. It thrives in the white waters which give such a thrill to rafters. Living life...

06 / 12 / 2004 | R Glen | KwaZulu-Natal NBG
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Hygrophila auriculata

Hygrophila auriculata
Common names: marsh barbel (Eng.); kokilasha, gokulakanta, vayalchulli, neermulli (India); neeramulli (Sri Lanka); kulekhara (Bangladesh)
Family: Acanthaceae

Hygrophila auriculata is a spiny herbaceous shrub that grows in marshes and on the edges of water bodies; it has numerous medicinal uses, the leaves can...

26 / 02 / 2024 | Ziphezinhle Madonsela | Lowveld NBG
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Hylodesmum repandum

Hylodesmum repandum
Common names: orange tick-trefoil, orange tick-clover, hitchhikers, beggar lice (Eng.)
Family: Fabaceae

An attractive, shrubby, scrambling, perennial leguminous plant, with small, yet charming orange-red flowers in summer....

09 / 09 / 2019 | Kamogelo Solomon Modimola | Kirstenbosch NBG
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Hymenolepis crithmifolia

Hymenolepis crithmifolia
Common names: coulter-bush (Eng.); koulterbos, pôbos, pokbos (Afr.)
Family: Asteraceae

Do you need to brighten a dull area in your garden? Then plant Hymenolepis crithmifolia in masses there - it will bring a bright yellow glow...

12 / 09 / 2005 | Paul Herman | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Hymenolepis parviflora

This plant is currently called Hymenolepis crithmifolia....

12 / 08 / 2005 | | National Herbarium Pretoria
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Hyobanche fulleri

Flowers
Common names: Cat nails
Family: Orobanchaceae

Hybanche fulleri is a striking parasitic plant with pale to bright pink flowers found only in dune scrub....

10 / 03 / 2014 | Hlengiwe Mtshali | CREW
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